Title
- Plant pattern (shokubutsu monyō 植物文様), autumn grasses (akikusa 秋草): chrysanthemums, balloon flowers, eastern valerian, Susuki grasses and grasses
Collection
Period | Style | School
Material | Technique
Measurements
Inventory number
- OR 3925-6364
Acquisition
- assumption , 1907
Department
- Asia Collection
Description
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"Dyed ground" (jizomari 地染). Plants that belong to the 'Seven Autumn Grasses'.
The Seven Autumn Grasses (aki no nanakusa 秋の七草): Japanese clover (hagi 萩), Susuki grass (susuki 薄), Japanese arrowroot (kuzu 葛), carnation (nadeshiko 撫子), eastern valerian (ominaeshi 女郎花), boneset (fujibakama 藤袴), balloon flower (kikyō 桔梗). Basically a nostalgic motif - at the sight of flowering autumn flowers, people are reminded of the transience of life.
The chrysanthemum (kiku 菊) symbolizes longevity, which dates back to a Chinese legend. The Yellow River once originated in a chrysanthemum meadow, and a villager who drank from the spring achieved a long life. In Japan, the motif first appears in the Kokin-wakashū 古今和歌集 (early 10th century), while the Man’yōshū 万葉集 from the 8th century lists 157 plant species but does not contain a single poem about chrysanthemums. It is therefore assumed that the flower was first introduced to Japan from China at the end of the 8th or beginning of the 9th century.
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stencil (katagami 型紙), Plant pattern (shokubutsu monyō 植物文様), autumn grasses (akikusa 秋草): chrysanthemums, balloon flowers, eastern valerian, Susuki grasses and grasses, Anonym, MAK Inv.nr. OR 3925-6364
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https://sammlung.mak.at/en/collect/plant-pattern-shokubutsu-monyo-植物文様-autumn-grasses-akikusa-秋草-chrysanthemums-balloon-flowers-eastern-valerian-susuki-grasses-and-grasses_348708
Last update
- 30.03.2026
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